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Abstract
In Ireland, expenditure on medicines in the community has increased over sixfold from €300 million in 1998 to €1.9 billion in 2008. The Health Service Executive has examined all aspects of the drugs supply chain in an attempt to obtain value for money. The 2006 agreement between the Health Service Executive and the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association resulted in a 35% reduction in the price of patent-expired medicines with estimated savings of €248 million. The agreement has been extended to 2012 providing a further 40% price reduction for those off-patent products. Reductions in wholesaler margins and pharmacy reimbursement will provide savings of €130 million per annum. Patient co-payment under the Drugs Payment Scheme increased to €120 per month and a new co-payment for medical card holders is to be introduced. Since September 2009, all new pharmaceutical products are considered for pharmacoeconomic assessment. Generic substitution and reference pricing are to be introduced in 2011.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.